The new measures will have a negative impact on the business of caterers

The new epidemiological measures will have a negative impact on the business of caterers and the Ministry of Health is proposed to consider the possibility of changing them, it was announced at today's session of the Catering Group of the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG).

The secretary of the Group, Sanja Marković, said that the economy was not, to the extent it should have been, consulted when adopting epidemiological measures, which is why some of them will be difficult to implement in practice.

The assessment of the members of the Group is that caterers are discriminated against in relation to other activities in Grna Gora and brought into uncertainty and the ultimate unsustainability of business, because only employees in the catering industry need to have a digital Covid certificate, a negative PCR or BAT test or a certificate of having recovered from Covid 19.

The PKCG announced that, in addition to the chronic shortage of labor in the hospitality industry, the epidemiological measures put in place in this way further threaten the business of the catering industry.

"This is precisely one of the measures that cannot be implemented immediately. A deadline should have been left for catering employees to fulfill this condition", Marković believes.

According to her, restaurateurs are recognized as the only ones whose employees must have covid passes.

The President of the Group, Igor Vujošević, said that the health and epidemiological measures that are adopted must not be selective, they must be clearly defined, understandable, with a predetermined time limit for adjustment, and they must be accompanied by adequate economic support for the economy due to business uncertainty.

"Therefore, before the adoption of epidemiological measures, the business community should be consulted and enough time should be left for adjustment and implementation," announced Vujošević.

Restaurateurs believe that any ban or difficulty in work, introduced through epidemiological measures, must be accompanied by adequate economic support that would compensate the costs and loss in the restaurateur's business.

"It is necessary to continue with measures to support the tourism economy, especially activities that are accompanied by work restrictions or a reduction in the volume of business caused by the introduction of epidemiological measures. "Due to the worsening epidemiological situation and the increased number of patients, the possibility of re-subsidizing the minimum wages of employees in self-isolation or those suffering from Covid 19 should be considered," the restaurateurs stated.

They appealed to all employees in tourism to start mass vaccination.

"This is the only way we protect our health and the health of our guests and send the message that we are a safe and responsible destination that applies globally recognized epidemiological measures," added the restaurateurs.

The director of the Directorate for Development Policies in Tourism at the Ministry of Economic Development, Aleksandra Gardašević Slavuljica, said that the first goal - a successful summer tourist season - had been achieved.

"We have a new goal in front of us - a successful post season, which is fully prepared, and the realization of which depends on the responsible behavior of all of us", assessed Gardašević Slavuljica.

According to her, the summer season was full of challenges, but Montenegro successfully responded to them.

"Data from the Police Administration show that from May 1 to August 30, 2,3 million foreigners entered Montenegro, mostly from the region, which is an impressive figure and a very significant lever for achieving good results in tourism. Our country is characterized as a tourist phenomenon. This season, we achieved the income planned for the whole year," said Gardašević Slavuljica.

The implementation of the post season will be affected by the weather and the covid situation.

“We have to focus on the post season. It is necessary for us to take responsibility and understand that we manage covid, not it us. Implementation of the measures must be imperative," said Gardašević Slavuljica.

She appealed to restaurateurs to promote immunization and raise employees' awareness about it. She called on the economy to get involved in the process of preparing the Tourism Development Strategy for the period from now until 2025.

Marković said that this year's summer season passed successfully, and that according to the data of the Ministry of Economic Development and the National Tourist Organization, tourist traffic in August is at the level of 96 percent of 2019.

"The biggest challenge this summer was the insufficient number of quality workforce, and that's something that needs to be worked on all year," Marković believes.

Sava Rakočević from the company Brca assessed that the lack of workforce in catering is also a consequence of inadequate measures by competent institutions, especially in terms of financial support and the negative campaign against caterers who are labeled as the main culprits for the state of health in the country. He believes that the responsibility for complying with the measures should be on each individual.

At the session, it was announced that in the coming period, decision-makers should consider the possibility of reducing the burden on the basis of work (contributions), and introduce the application of a reduced rate of value added tax (VAT) of seven percent to all services in the hospitality industry (food and beverages) independently from the registration of the object. In this way, they would expand the tax base and make the business environment more acceptable for the economy and influence the reduction of the gray economy.

After September 1, VAT of seven percent was retained for services in restaurants and catering establishments registered for catering.

Marković announced that the mentioned VAT rate will be the focus of discussions between representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and the Revenue and Customs Administration.